


Serendipity

by Elerrina174



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, Car Accidents, Cullen on Earth, Cullen out of Thedas, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Modern Girl in Thedas, Modern Thedas, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, but not really, more like thedas in the modern world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-07-29 06:29:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16258583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elerrina174/pseuds/Elerrina174
Summary: Serendipity- the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.When events at the Wells of Sorrows go horribly wrong some of the Inquisition's higher-ups are transported to Earth. Emma is driving home when she almost hits a man who falls out of a blinding green light. He's dressed strangely and she doesn't know what she's getting herself into when she agrees to help him get home.Or instead of a modern girl falling into Thedas, Thedas falls into the modern world.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got the inspiration for this story from the movie Enchanted. I can see this being a really fun story to write and I'm excited to share it. Comments and kudos are appreciated, please let me know what you think. Thank you!

**Prologue:**

“I don't know if this is a good idea Inquisitor,” Cullen said as he shook his head.

“I know but we don't have time, Corypheus is coming and we need to act.” She replied without taking her eyes off of the well.

“I don't think a decision like this should be made so hastily.” He warned.

She ignored him as she waded into the well’s water. Dorian came to stand next to him as they both watched, Dorian with curious wonder and Cullen with a scowl.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” He muttered to himself.

“Do you have any other feeling?” Dorian quipped in a sarcastic tone.

Cullen shot him a sideways look before turning his eyes back to Evelyn. He watched as she stooped to scoop up some water with her hand. But the second the green mark on her hand hit the water's surface it erupted with light. The bright green light now emanating from the well engulfed them all. Cullen had the sensation that he was falling but it was pitch black and he couldn't see if he was falling, or where he might be falling to.

**Chapter 1:**

Emma didn't usually drive her car in the city. Everything was within walking distance or you could always take a cab but today was different. She was coming back from a trip upstate to visit her sister who had a nice house in the suburbs with a family, a dog and a white picket fence, the American dream, or so she called it.

When their parents died they had left them a decent inheritance. Ally had spent a little on an education but had found Mr. Right pretty early on and decided to be a stay-at-home mom instead of pursuing a career which seemed to work for her. While Emma, on the other hand, had spent it all on a degree from a good school, so she could get out and find a decent job. The job she had now which was working in the administration's department of that same school was not what she had in mind. She barely made enough to pay off her student loans.

She sighed as she drove down the dimly lit city road. It was late at night and she was on a lesser used road so the traffic was light. The sides of the road abounded with sketchy people, however. She reached over and locked her car doors as she glanced around the mostly empty street. She had always been wary of the city at night. You never knew who could jump out of the shadows.

She slowed to come around a slight curve in the road and then accelerated again. For once she was actually driving the speed limit. She looked down to turn up the radio, Foreigner’s “Feels Like The First Time” was playing and she cracked the volume higher as she bobbed her head to the music.

 _I have waited a lifetime_  
_Spent my time so foolishly_  
_But now that I found you_  
_Together we'll make history_

When she glanced back up she suddenly saw a blinding green light. It appeared right in the middle of the road and she slammed on her brakes as she closed her eyes against the bright light. She heard a thud as the car came to a halt and she slowly cracked her eyes open. The bright light was gone and now lying on the ground in front of the car was a motionless form. She leaned forward in her seat and peer at the mass in the middle of the road. It was dimly lit and there was so much fur she couldn't tell if it was an animal or a person with really bad fashion sense. It looked too big to be any animal you would find in the city.

She reached over and pulled on the door handle, but it didn't budge. She yanked on it frantically until she remembered she had locked it and quickly hit the button to release the lock. She threw open the door and rushed to the form in the road. As she got closer she could make out arms and legs which meant it was a person. She had just hit a man! She knelt down beside his motionless figure and reached her hands toward him hesitantly. He was dressed strangely but then again it _was_ New York City in the middle of the night.

She bent closer to him and pulled the giant mane around his shoulders away from his face. She stroked a hand over his head as she peered at him, “Sir, are you alright?” He didn't answer, he didn't even stir. “Oh, no,” she whined, she hoped he wasn't dead.

He felt warm and when she put her hand in front of his face she could feel his wet breath on the back of it. So he wasn't dead, that was good. She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed 911. They told her an ambulance was on its way and she knelt back down next to the man as she waited.

When the ambulance and police showed up she followed them to the hospital. She had Monday off from work since it was a holiday and the man appeared to be alone. She didn't want to leave him by himself. She had to stick around and talk to the cops anyway and they had insisted that she get checked out as well. The cops escorted her to the hospital and they interviewed her while she was examined and then they all waited in the hospital waiting room for news from the doctors about the man. She told them exactly what had happened. About the bright light, and the man appearing out of nowhere. They looked at her like she was crazy but seemed to buy her story for the moment, especially after they made sure she wasn't drunk.

Emma sat in a chair across from the two police officers absentmindedly tapping her foot. The waiting room had a television but the sound was turned off and it was just on the news. It was late at night so they waiting room was mostly empty. An old man sat next to her, apparently waiting for someone and a woman with two kids was filling out a form near the end of the row of seats. One of the children was whining loudly while the other one rested against her lethargically, he looked pretty sick. Emma made a mental note to avoid that end of the waiting room as she glanced up at the clock on the wall. It had been a few hours since the accident and she was not only tired now that the adrenaline had worn off but she was also hungry.

Under the watchful eyes of the two cops, she got up and went to the nearby vending machine in the far corner of the room. She hummed to herself as she perused the wall of unhealthy food behind the glass in front of her. She spotted some chips that she liked and bent over as she squinted at the letter and number under them. She dug around in her wallet for a five dollar bill and slowly fed it to the machine. It spat it back out at her with a loud unhappy beep and she frowned. She sighed as she took the money back out and smoothed it on the edge of the machine before feeding it back into the machine. It accepted it this time and with a whirring dispensed she chips. She squatted and shoved her hand into the narrow slit at the bottom before finally pulling them out triumphantly.

She ripped the bag open and munched on her chips happily as she walked back over to her seat. The doctor was back talking to the police officers and she tried to focus on what he was saying as she got closer. By the time she reached them the doctor was turning back around to leave. She looked from the back of the doctor's lab coat to the cops who informed her that the man was going to be ok. He had sustained no injuries consistent with being hit by a car so she was off the hook. She was free to go and the case was closed.

Emma stood there with her hand still in her bag of chips dumbfounded. She was sure she had hit that man. He had landed right in front of her car, she had to have hit him. If she hadn't hit him then why was he unconscious. She frowned and looked at the ground as the cops quickly gathered their things and left. She was free to go, but what about the man? She eventually shrugged, if the doctor had said he was going to be ok then she shouldn’t worry.

She picked her bag up from where she had plopped it into her seat and slung it over her shoulder. She was about to head out the door when she heard a commotion behind her. She turned around and let her curiosity get the better of her as she wandered down the hall toward the noise. Someone came barreling out from behind one of the curtains and ran straight into her.

“Ow!” she cried out as she banged into the wall behind her.

The person who had run into her immediately stopped and turned. “Sorry,” he offered out of breath as his eyes darted around.

Emma squinted her eyes as she looked at him, “Hey, you're that guy.” It was the man from the accident.

His amber eyes focused on her, “You-you know me?” he asked as he leaned toward her.

“Well, I recognize you. I mean I kind of, sort of, hit you with my car but not really.” she stumbled through her explanation as she tried to figure out the best way to explain to this man that she had but hadn't hit him.

“What?” he shook his head in confusion, “Where am I?”

“A hospital, in New York City,” she explained calmly.

This just made him shake his head even more, “I have to get out of here, I have to find the Inquisitor.” He turned away from her to leave but froze and looked down. “Have you seen my clothes or my sword?” He asked as he turned back around.

“Your sword??” She raised her eyebrows in shock.

“Yes, I need it,” he stated plainly as he moved around her and headed back toward his room.

“You have a sword??” she slowly followed behind him, “Like a fake sword, right?”

“No, it's very real.” he continued walking ahead of her.

“Why do you need a real sword? Is it to make your costume look more real? He turned and gave her a curious look, “You escaped from a nearby renaissance fair or something, right?”

“No I’m from Thedas, and I need my sword for protection.”

Emma laughed nervously, “Uhh, where?”

“Thedas, you know, with Orlais, Ferelden, the Free Marches.” She blinked at him blankly. He sighed, “Nevermind, I just need to get my things and get out of here so I can find the Inquisitor.”

He began shoving through the curtains in front of them and through the rooms of other patients as he looked for his own. Emma followed him cautiously and apologized to every patient they disturbed.

“I think you have a head injury,” she mumbled to herself as he shoved yet another curtain out of their way.

“What?” he turned at the sound of her voice but only made it halfway around. “Ah,” his eyes were focused on a pile of clothes on a nearby chair.

He immediately began to strip out of his gown and Emma whipped around quickly, “Okayy,” she said and she stared at the opposite wall.

“What the hell is going on?!” an angry looking doctor backed up by a couple of nurses barged into the room. “You're out of bed, running around the hospital like a madman terrorizing the other patients. You need to give us your information and then leave, you can't stay here anymore, not with behavior like that.”

“Doctor, wait!” she lunged toward them before they could leave. She didn't even turn around to look at or address the man behind her. She was pretty sure he either couldn't remember anything or was crazy so she knew he wouldn't be any help, and from the way the two nurses eyes were locked on the area behind her she could guess he was still in a state of undress. “Please, he must have some sort of head injury or something, he doesn't even know where he is.”

“He doesn't have a head injury, he's fine besides a couple of abrasions which are consistent with a fall from a low height. He’s too disruptive, he needs to give us his information and then leave or we’ll be forced to get security involved.” The doctor stated before leaving.

Emma sighed as she watched them leave before slowly turning to the man behind her. “You wouldn't happen to know your insurance information, would you?”

“My what?” he scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion as he strapped a belt around his waist. He was now dressed in his previous clothes, including his armor and hideous cloak.

Emma groaned, now she was going to have to pay for him. She went to the desk and gave them her information before signing a few forms. She went back to the room to find the man gone. She ran out of the room and looked in every direction before her eyes spotted his large form down the hall heading toward the main doors. She ran to catch up to him and grabbed onto his arm as she yanked to bring him to a halt.

“Wait, wait, wait,” she gasped, out of breath. “You don't know where you are, you're dressed like a crazy person and are talking like a crazy person. Do you even have anywhere to go for the night? Do you have money? An ID? Are you even from the city?”

He cocked his head and frowned at her, “To be honest I don't really know. This place is very different from what I’m used to. The last thing I remember is being at the Well of Sorrows with the Inquisitor and then I woke up here. I don't even know where here is.” He paused and glanced around for a moment before fixing his eyes back on her. “Will you help me? He asked sincerely.

Emma scoffed and held up her hands, “Listen, buddy, I just paid for your medical bill. That's about all the help I can give you. I can't bring you home with me. You're a big, strange guy with a sword. I may have some kinks but that's not one of them.”

He didn't move or say anything, he just continued to stare at her with his whiskey-colored eyes. Emma stared back at him but her resolve was slowly melting. She scrunched her face and bit her lip before finally breaking.

“Fine! Fine, I’ll help you." She went to move past him, before pausing and jamming a finger in his face. “I have mace in my purse, so if you try anything I won't hesitate.” He held up his hands in front of himself submissively. “And if you kill me I swear I will come back and haunt your ass.” She moved past him and began to walk away, “Come on,” she called over her shoulder as she walked out the hospital doors and headed to her car, with the man tagging behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in game Cullen isn't at the Well of Sorrows with the Inquisitor but I changed that to work with the story. This story is not going to follow the canon storyline so you shouldn't be surprised. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

The parking lot was mostly dark, only lit by a couple of tall street lights. Emma kept a tight grip on her purse just in case the man behind her, whom she didn't even know, tried anything. She paused as they reached her car and turned to face him. 

“I'm Emma by the way.” She offered him her hand to shake. 

“Cullen Rutherford,” he grabbed her hand strangely and then suddenly bent toward it. 

Emma yanked her hand back out of his grasp. “What are you doing??”

“I-um… greeting you.” He was staring at her wide-eyed and confused. 

“Well I don't know what it's like where you come from, but here we don't do that. We just shake hands, ok?”

He nodded his head, “Alright,”

She left him standing at the passenger side and walked to the other side of the car. She hit her fob and the car gave a beep as it unlocked. Cullen took a step back as the lights flashed. 

“Get in,” she motioned to the passenger seat as she opened her door and climbed inside. 

Cullen slowly entered the car, almost hitting his head on the door frame as he got in. Emma just shook her head as she put the key in the ignition and started it up. Cullen sat crunched in the seat next to her with wide eyes, he looked perplexed and afraid to touch anything. What, has he never seen a car before? Where is this guy from anyway? She thought to herself as she looked over at him. She reached over between his legs, which caused him to freeze and push himself back against his seat. Emma rolled her eyes at the nervous look he gave her and pulled on the lever beneath his seat, causing him to slide backward. His hand clutched onto the armrest next to him as he sucked in his breath. His reactions to everything were almost laughable. 

“You have to put your seatbelt on.” She said as she clicked her own around her. 

“My what?” He glanced at her. 

“Your seatbelt.” She informed him as she motioned to her own. He just blinked at her, unmoving. 

Emma sighed audibly and leaned over in her seat toward him. She reached over him and grabbed his seatbelt before pulling it over his broad chest and clicking it into the holder next to him. 

“Thank you,”

“No problem,” she replied in a tired tone as she shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. 

Cullen stared out all of the windows with his mouth open in amazement. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him leaning to get better views of the skyscrapers and lights as they drove by. 

“This place is amazing, I have never seen anything like it.” He turned to look at her. “I'm not in Thedas anymore, am I.”

“I don't know where you came from or how you got here. I've never heard of a place called Thedas before and I've certainly never heard of someone falling out of a bright green light. But you're in New York City now. I think Taylor Swift has a song for this occasion.” She grabbed her phone and plugged in the aux cord as she continued to drive. “I'm not the biggest T. Swift fan but the song she did for that one cute cartoon movie would fit this perfectly.” 

Cullen stared at her blankly as she scrolled through her music before finding the song she wanted. She pressed play and cranked the volume up as Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” blasted from the car speakers. 

Cullen nearly jumped out of his seat as the music began. “Maker’s breath! Are you hiding a bard somewhere in here?” He turned to search the back seat. 

Emma couldn't help but laugh, “No, it's coming from the car.” She pointed to one of the speakers and Cullen bent to examine it. 

“So this carriage without horses is called a car? And it can play music?”

“Yes and yes, we ditched the horses a while ago. Well, most of us did. Right now the music is actually coming from my phone.” She explained as she tossed the device to him. He turned it over in his hands as he examined it.

“Your world is amazing.” He said with wonder in his voice.

“Well, I've been here my whole life so none of this is really new for me.” She pulled the car up in front of her building. “Here we are.”

She turned the car off and unbuckled her seat belt before gathering her things in her arms. Next to her Cullen opened his door and tried to stand up. His seat belt tightened with the motion and slowly pulled him back. He struggled against it for a moment before lifting his eyes to hers. 

“Help, your contraption is tightening around me.” He struggled against it more but this only caused it to tighten further. “It's trying to strangle me!”

Emma broke out into laughter as she watched him fight with the inanimate strap. “Who are you??” She managed between laughs as she leaned over and pressed the button to release his belt. 

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he pulled it from around him. “Oh,” 

“Come on,” she motioned with her head toward the door as she exited the car and stood.

He was right behind her as she entered her building and walked to the elevator. She pressed the button and waited in front of the doors for her ride to come. With a ding, the elevator doors opened and She entered the small room with Cullen on her heels. She pressed the button for her floor and hummed quietly as the floor numbers ticked by. When the doors opened again she stepped out and Cullen followed cautiously. 

“Maker’s breath we teleported, it's magic.” He was looking around the hallway they had stepped into. 

“We didn't teleport and it's not magic, it's an elevator.” Emma explained as she continued down the hall toward her apartment. 

“An ele- what?”

“An elevator,” she enunciated the word more clearly. “It's like a moving room that carries you up a building.”

“Oh… that's, strange.”

Emma glanced at him before putting the key in her door and opening it up. “Home, sweet home.” She led Cullen into her small one bedroom apartment and flipped on the light.

“So that's how you get light. I was wondering since I didn't see any candles. How does it work?” He walked into her kitchen and examined the light fixture on her ceiling. 

“You are just full of questions aren't you.” She sighed, who was she to inhibit his curiosity. “There's a lightbulb in there that runs off of electricity. Which before you ask is just a form of energy, like fire. Basically, it's complicated and all you need to know is that it provides light without fire.” She pointed to his feet, “Medieval boots off, please. You're getting dirt everywhere.”

“Sorry,” he grimaced as he scurried back in front of the door to remove his shoes.

“Once you're done with that I'll give you a quick tour, since there isn't much to see and then you can have something to eat if you want while I make the couch up for you to sleep on.” He nodded in response as he slid his boots off. 

Emma showed him the kitchen and living room. She made sure he knew where the bathroom was and how to use everything in it. She couldn't believe she had to explain to a grown man what a shower was. She made sure he knew how to work it since she knew using someone else's shower was like trying to work a spaceship sometimes. 

“What do you want to eat?” She asked as they finished their tour back in the kitchen. She opened up the fridge and peered inside. “I have junk food, junk food, and more junk food. Do you like pizza?” She pulled out the half-empty box and showed it to him. 

“I've never had pizza.”

She wasn't surprised, “Well, we’ll have to fix that.” She threw a couple slices of pizza in the microwave before setting it down on a plate in front of him. 

He took an eager bite and froze. With his mouth full his eyes locked on hers. “Mish ith gud.”

Emma couldn't help but laugh, “Yeah, it is good. There's nothing like a piece of pizza and a cold beer. She said as she placed a beer from the fridge in front of him.” He took a swig and hummed in agreement. “Yeah, I thought you looked like a pizza and beer guy.”

“Are you going to eat?” He asked when his mouth wasn't as full. 

“Nah, I already had dinner. Once you're finished here you can just leave the dishes by the sink, I'll clean them up in the morning. You can sleep on the couch I've made up for you. I'm going to bed, I will see you in the morning.” She stood from her seat, “Don't rob me, and remember what I said, I will haunt your ass.”

She went to go to her room when a warm wright fell over her hand that was still on the table. She looked down to find Cullen's much larger hand encompassing her own. When he saw her eyes he instinctively pulled his hand away, “Sorry,” he apologized. “I just wanted to thank you for what you're doing for me. If you hadn't helped me I don't know what I would have done, or where I would be right now.”

She smiled at him, “Everyone needs a friend, it's no problem. Goodnight,” 

She walked back to her room and locked the door behind her. She was a good judge of character and hadn't gotten any bad vibes from Cullen but she knew from watching enough crime dramas that serial killers were usually very charismatic. So, just in case, she was sleeping with her mace under her pillow. She stayed up and waited until she didn't hear any movement outside of the door before lying down and going to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_Wake me up before you go go,_  
_Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo._  
_Wake me up before you go go,_  
_I don't want to miss it when you hit that high_  
_Wake me up before you go go,_  
_'Cause I'm not planning on going solo._  
_Wake me up before you go go,_  
_Take me dancing tonight._  
_I want to hit that high_

Emma scrubbed the shampoo into her hair as she sang loudly. The warm water sprayed into her face and she ran her fingers through her hair to rinse the shampoo out under the shower. She danced a little as she continued to sing and grabbed the conditioner off the ledge. She squirted some into her hand and ran it through the ends of her hair. She was washing the conditioner out when she felt a cold breeze blow through the bathroom. She grabbed the shower curtain and slowly pulled it back as she peeked around the edge. Cullen was casually walking across the bathroom toward the toilet.

“What are you doing?!” Emma called out as she held the curtain closer to her body.

He looked up at her suddenly, “I had to use the bathroom.”

“I'm in the shower!”

“Is that a problem?” He knitted his eyebrows together in confusion.

“Yes! Get out!”

He immediately turned on his heels and exited the bathroom quickly. Emma pulled the shower curtain back into place and shoved her head under the water. _What the hell was he thinking?_ She scrubbed her face as she tried to understand the man that was sharing her house. He didn't seem to understand any social cues and he was clueless about everything modern. She sighed as she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around her body.

She approached the sink and rubbed the water droplets off the mirror. She hummed softly as she picked up a brush and pulled it through her dirty blonde hair. After brushing her teeth she turned and suddenly realized she had left her change of clothes back in her room. She was hesitant to go back to her room since she was only in a towel and Cullen was somewhere in her apartment. However, there was no way around it. She hoped he was in another part of the apartment as she opened the door and stepped out.

“Emma,” Cullen was waiting outside of the door for her and stepped toward her when it opened.

Emma jumped slightly and clutched at the towel wrapped around her. “Y-yes?”

“Sorry, did I startle you? I didn't mean to, sorry. I just wanted to apologize about-” he gestured to the bathroom. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, where I come from it's… different. So… sorry.” He ended on an awkward note and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away.

Emma tried to keep a straight face but couldn't help smirking. She examined his face as his eyes looked anywhere but her. Was he blushing? She shook her head, “You say sorry too much.” His eyes snapped back to her to find her smirking. “It's fine, just… now you know.” She said as she moved past him toward her room.

She quickly changed into some fresh clothes and threw her towel back in the bathroom as she passed on her way to the kitchen. When she entered the living rock she found Cullen sitting on the sofa next to his neatly folded sheets.

She paused and looked at him, “Are you hungry?”

His eyes snapped up to meet hers like he hadn't heard her enter the room. “Y-yes,”

“I don't have work today so I was going to make breakfast. Do you want some eggs?”

“Yes please,” he seemed a little surprised by her offer but readily accepted.

“Feel free to shower,” she threw over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen. She stopped and turned back around as she heard Cullen stand from the couch, “Actually, you can't wear that.” She pointed to his strange costume-like outfit.

“What's wrong with my clothes?” He looked down over himself in concern.

She scoffed, “A lot of things,” she started back towards her room as she spoke. “I think my ex-boyfriend may have left some clothes here, hold on.” She opened her closet and rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. She walked back out of her room to Cullen who she had left standing in the hallway. “Here,” she pushed the clothes into his hands.

“These are your boyfriends?” He asked as he examined the clothes.

“ _Ex-boyfriend’s_ , emphasis on the ex. He wasn't as tall as you or as…” she gave him a once over, “built, so they might not fit you perfectly, but they'll do for now until we can get you some of your own.”

She walked back towards the kitchen and started preparing breakfast as she heard Cullen close the door to the bathroom behind her. She got the eggs from the fridge and was about to crack one into a pan when her name was called.

“Emma?” She turned to find Cullen peeking his head out from the bathroom. “Can you help me turn on your rain machine?”

She snickered at his request, “It's a shower, and sure.”

She went over to the bathroom and he opened the door to reveal that he was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Emma's steps faltered momentarily. When she had mentioned he was built she hadn't known how well. She averted her eyes from his muscular chest and moved past him into the bathroom. She leaned over the tub and started the water before turning the shower on.

“There you go.” She straightened and wiped the water from her hands onto her pants.

“Thank you,” he smiled at her, and Emma gave him a quick smile back before putting her eyes to the ground and leaving.

She prepared them both eggs for breakfast and had everything set for Cullen when he was finished in the bathroom. She looked up from the table where she was eating when the bathroom door opened. Cullen stepped out in the clothes she had given him and she had to stifle her laugh at the sight of him. She had been right about the clothes not fitting him properly. He looked like he was wearing high waters, the sleeves on the hoodie were too short and it barely came down to the top of his pants. He caught her laughing eyes with his own and sighed as a look of distress came over his face.

“They're that bad aren't they?” He asked as he moved into the kitchen.

“Yeah, they're that bad.” Emma snickered. “Don't worry, we can get you clothes that actually fit later. I can take you shopping today if you'd like.”

“Sure,” he sat down across from her to eat. “But what about me getting home.”

Emma frowned, “About that,” she let out a deep breath. “I don't know how I can help you any more than just giving you a place to stay. I mean you have no ID and no money. I don't even know you, and I have no idea where you came from. It was risky enough for me to let you stay here. Listen, from what I’ve seen you seem to be a nice guy, but I have my own life and my own problems. I can offer you a place to stay for a couple of nights, feed you and clothe you apparently but that's it. If you need money for a plane ticket or something I can help you with that but that's about all I can do.”

He gave her a sincere look, “Thank you, that is more than I could ask for. To be honest I don't fully understand how I got here either, or how to get home. I think I’m from a different world entirely. This is all very new and confusing and although I just met you, you are the closest thing I have to a friend right now. I sincerely thank you for your hospitality and I don't wish to overstay my welcome.”

“A different world?” she tried to speak around her mouthful. “I don't know if I would call England a different world.” he squinted his eyes at her in confusion. “That is where you're from right? With the accent and everything.”

“I'm from Ferelden in Thedas.”

“Hmm,” Emma thought for a moment before getting up to get her laptop. “While I’m up I’m going to put some coffee on. Would you like a cup?”

“Whats coffee?”

Emma turned to him in shock, “You've never had coffee?”

He shook his head, “I’ve heard of it but no, I’ve never had it.”

“Oh, you've got to have a cup then, it's great.” She put the coffee on and then grabbed her laptop before sitting back down at the table.

“What's that? Cullen gestured to the computer.

“You remember the phone that I showed you?” he nodded, “Well it's like a big phone.”

She typed “Thedas” into the search bar and scrolled through the results. All that was coming up were results for a video game she had never heard about before. She wasn't much into playing video games so she wasn't well versed in the area. She clicked on a result that looked promising and soon came across something shocking.

“Oh my gosh,”

“What?” Cullen looked up at her.

“Does this look familiar?” she turned the computer screen towards him so he could see what she was looking at.

His mouth fell open as he leaned closer to get a better look. “That-that's me.”

“You think? It says you're from some video game. Listen, if you're a cosplayer you've taken this way too far and you need to leave.” she replied sternly.

However, he looked even more confused than she was. “How do I work this contraption?” he hesitantly touched the laptop and Emma sat up and leaned over it to help him. He scrolled down the page, his mouth open slightly in disbelief the whole time. “This is my life, everything…” he trailed off. He pushed himself back away from the table. “What kind of magic is this?!

“I don't know, are you really him?” She gestured to the computer screen. “I mean is that really you?”

“Yes, that's me, that's my life. I'm not pretending or lying to you. That is truly me and I can't explain any of this.”

Emma was struggling internally, she didn't know whether or not to believe him. He seemed genuine enough but she didn't know him and what he was suggesting was ridiculous. Video game characters didn't just come to life. They didn't randomly fall into your lap on a cool fall night. Things like that didn't happen, it was impossible. And yet the more she looked at him, the more she was convinced. He looked exactly like the picture, his gold hair, his amber eyes, the scar on his lip. The outfit he had shown up in was exactly like the one in the picture, hideous cloak and all. She grabbed her laptop back and pulled up a quick video from the game. The second his character started talking she was convinced. They had the same voice, even his mannerisms were the same.

“That-that's my voice.” he got up and came to her side of the table. He looked over her shoulder to watch the video she was looking at. “That's me! I had this conversation a couple of weeks ago, word for word.” He straightened and put his hands on the top of his head. “Oh, maker’s breath this can't be happening.” He started pacing back and forth across her floor.

Emma watched him with wide eyes. _This can't be happening. This doesn't happen to people_. She didn't know what to think. Cullen seemed convinced and she had to agree.

“Ok, this is weird, and things like this don't happen or so I thought. But, It's happening now, so just don't panic and well figure this out.” She said most of this for her own benefit but it seemed to get Cullen’s attention as he stopped pacing and looked at her. “If you really are this video game character and somehow got here from your world than there has to be some way to get you back, and we just have to find it, and your friends.”

“You'll still help me? I feel like I can't ask that of you but-”

“Yeah, I’ll still help you.” she stood from the table with their dishes. “And we’re going to start by taking you shopping. If we’re going to get you home, we’re going to do it in style.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song she is singing is "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!


End file.
